FAQ Group: Administration

What is the Home Owners’ Association?

Upon purchasing a unit in the West Campus Point faculty housing, the owners automatically become members of the West Campus Point Home Owners’ Association (HOA).

The HOA is responsible for all HOA property and improvements outside the footprint of your unit (the Common Area), and the HOA is also responsible for maintenance and repair of the exterior “envelope” (paint and roofs, but not windows or doors) of each unit. The HOA collects dues from all homeowners to cover the expenses associated with fulfilling its responsibilities.

The HOA is bound by a set of legal documents as well as by the laws of the State of California pertaining to planned unit development communities (broadly called “The Davis Stirling Act”). The legal documents include:

Articles of Incorporation
Bylaws
CC&Rs (Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions) and their subsidiary regulations, guidelines, and agreements; and the
Common Area Lease from the UC Regents.

The HOA is in the process of making these documents available for viewing and download from this website.

How is the WCP HOA governed?

The West Campus Point Home Owners’ Association is governed by an elected board of volunteers who live at West Campus Point. The board meets roughly once a month, and otherwise as needed, to make decisions for the WCP HOA. Meeting notices are sent out with the monthly newsletter and posted on the mail kiosks in each cluster. To make decisions that require significant research and assessment, the board typically establishes committees. Committees can be composed of board members and non-board members. The names and e-mails of current board members are listed here.

The board employs a management company to execute many business operations, such as dues collection, payment of bills and selection of contractors. As of March 2017, the management company is Coast Community Property Management, Sandie Foehl, is our property manager, David Foehl, her husband, assists, mainly with financials. You can reach them by phone at (805) 968-3435 or by e-mail at sfoehl@msn.com.

How does the HOA communicate with homeowners?

There are a variety of communication mechanisms:

HOA Board Meetings that occur roughly monthly, and which, by the Bylaws, are announced at least 4 days in advance. The agenda for meetings is distributed by e-mail (see below) and posted in the mailbox kiosks. Homeowners are welcome to attend but the meeting is structured with restricted time intervals for comment and discussion. Minutes of the meetings are distributed by primary e-mail listserv.
The primary e-mail listserv, which only the HOA president and the property management company may use to send messages. The primary e-mail listserv is for business including meeting announcements, minutes, billing, alerts, and periodic newsletters. Visit https://westcampuspoint.net/e-mail-lists to verify that you are on this listserv; you may not opt out of the primary e-mail listserv, and it is important that accurate e-mail addresses for owners are there. If there are any problems, please contact the list manager Harold Marcuse, marcuse@history.ucsb.edu.
The quarterly newsletter, distributed via the primary e-mail listserv, which has information of interest to homeowners, such as the schedule of upcoming maintenance projects at WCP, and maintenance tips for WCP homeowners.
A secondary listserv, the WCP community list, which is available for all members to initiate and/or participate in email discussions, such as requests for recommendations for plumbers, electricians, contractors, etc., and for notices concerning use of the pool area, Palm Plaza, or other parts of the Common Area for social events. The secondary listserv is also managed from https://westcampuspoint.net/e-mail-lists; you may opt out of the secondary listserv.

How often does the WCP HOA board meet?

The Board meets as needed, usually around once a month. Each meeting’s time, location and agenda is finalized at least five days before its scheduled date and distributed to homeowners. Board meetings are usually held in a board member’s home. The one exception being the HOA Annual Meeting, which is usually held during the first week of December at a venue large enough for all homeowners to attend.

May anyone attend HOA board meetings?

Homeowners are entitled (and welcome) to attend regular board meetings, which are typically held once a month, at a time, place and agenda announced to the community at least four days in advance. The agenda for every regular board meeting begins with a “homeowner’s forum” during which homeowners are welcome to speak and bring issues to the board’s attention. If an issue is not already on the agenda for the meeting in which it is raised, its discussion will be deferred to a future meeting.

Homeowners are entitled, and especially encouraged, to attend the Annual HOA Meeting, which requires a quorum of homeowners to do business. Homeowners who are unable to attend may fill out a proxy form, to help ensure that a quorum is obtained. The Annual Meeting agenda includes reports from standing committees and ad hoc committees, as well as the election of Board members to one-year terms.

Can the HOA board meet without notifying homeowners?

No. California law is explicit on this matter. From time to time the Board may meet in an Executive Session, from which homeowners are excluded, to deal with a specific set of matters: primarily contract negotiations or matters pertaining to financial obligations of a particular homeowner (e.g., non-payment of HOA dues). California law restricts board members’ interactions outside of posted HOA meetings; in particular, a quorum of board members (at WCP a quorum is three) may not discuss HOA issues outside of an announced meeting.

Are HOA board meetings’ minutes distributed to homeowners?

The Board Secretary, or another designated person, takes minutes during regular meetings. A draft of the minutes is circulated to those who were present and presented for approval at the subsequent board meeting. Approved minutes are distributed via email to the WCP Announcements list. Minutes from the WCP Annual Meeting are prepared in draft form, distributed to homeowners with the annual HOA financial disclosures, and presented for approval at the following Annual Meeting in December.

How does the HOA budget work?

Every year, based on past years’ expenses, the management company draws up a proposed HOA budget for the following year. The HOA Board votes to amend and, ultimately, approve the budget. The past year’s finances are reviewed and the coming year’s budget is shared with homeowners at the Annual Meeting every December.

The HOA maintains both an operating account, for regular maintenance and planned expenses, and financial reserves, for large, planned expenses (e.g., roof replacement). In the event of large, unplanned expenses, the HOA can draw on reserve funds to avoid taking loans or levying a sudden, special assessment on homeowners. Replenishment of reserve funds then becomes a budgetary priority.

Homeowners receive a WCP monthly financial statement listing HOA income (primarily from homeowner remittances), HOA expenses (both monthly and year-to-date), and the level of the HOA’s financial reserves.

Every three years, the HOA Board performs a Reserve Study to assess the adequacy of the financial reserves. Specifically, the board establishes a committee of WCP residents, which may or may not include board members, and hires a reserve study specialist, who calculates the reserves needed to pay for major planned and unplanned maintenance. These include items such as repairs and replacement to asphalt , pool and Jacuzzi equipment, and landscape infrastructure. The calculation is based on estimates of the lifetime of a particular component and of its replacement cost. The HOA has traditionally funded reserves at 85%, effectively underweighting expenses that are projected more than a decade out.